Adelaide is famous for its wine, but the food here is just as good. Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent supply fresh wild seafood that is known across Australia, while the city's German settler heritage left behind first-rate cheese, sausage, and bakeries. Local pride means Adelaide chefs and restaurants lean on South Australian produce above all, so every meal feels like you are eating something genuinely fresh and real.
#1 Pie Floater
An overnight icon of Adelaide that nowhere else in Australia makes quite like this: an ordinary Australian-style meat pie set floating in a thick, dark-green pea soup with tomato sauce poured over the top. It sounds odd, but it tastes surprisingly well balanced. The warm pea soup softens the base of the pie, the spiced filling is fragrant, and eating one late at night or after leaving the pub has been an Adelaide tradition for more than 100 years. It is now listed as a cultural heritage item of the state of South Australia.
- Vili's Pies is a local brand that has been making pies since 1953, sold in supermarkets and at dedicated pie shops, with reliably consistent quality.
- Try one late at night after wandering the city after dark, for the real Adelaide experience.
- If you do not like a strong pea taste, ask for less soup or have it served on the side; the flavour is milder and sweeter than you would expect.
#2 South Australian Seafood
South Australia has a national reputation for seafood. Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent supply Southern Rock Lobster with sweet white meat that is exported to Japan and Europe, fresh Coffin Bay oysters known for being clean and sweet, plus King Crab and King George Whiting with soft, fragrant flesh. At the Central Market you can buy it fresh to cook yourself or eat it at a seafood spot for far less than at an ordinary restaurant.
- Coffin Bay oysters from the Eyre Peninsula are among the best oysters in the world; eat them fresh with lemon at the Central Market for half the price of a restaurant.
- King George Whiting is the local fish Adelaide people love most, with white flesh and no fishy smell; try it pan-fried at a neighbourhood restaurant.
- The seafood restaurants along Gouger Street stay open late and are reasonably priced, ideal for dinner after exploring the city.
#3 Barossa Valley Shiraz
Shiraz from the Barossa is one of the most respected red wines in the world. Vines more than 100 years old in the red Barossa soil yield intense grapes that bring dark berry, spice, and chocolate notes to the wine, clearly different from Shiraz made elsewhere. Leading wineries like Penfolds make Grange, Australia's most expensive wine and a global benchmark, but many smaller wineries offer good wine tasting at accessible prices.
- Penfolds Magill Estate, right in Adelaide, runs tours without you having to drive out to the Barossa; you can taste Grange-level wine on a tour costing roughly AUD 45-85 per person.
- Smaller wineries around Eden Valley and Greenock often offer free or cheaper wine tasting, and you taste more closely than at the big wineries.
- Buying wine straight from the winery is cheaper than in the city and gives you access to bottles that are not exported; ask about shipping home.
#4 South Australian Lamb
South Australian lamb is reckoned the best quality in Australia because the sheep are raised free-range on wide grasslands, giving tender meat with little fat and a much milder, distinctive aroma than European lamb. Adelaide people love a slow-roasted lamb shoulder, cooked for hours until the meat falls off the bone, or char-grilled lamb cutlets over high heat served with a traditional mint sauce. Many city restaurants pair it with local Grenache wine.
- If you want to try lamb the real Australian backyard way, buy it at the Central Market and have a barbecue in a public park — many parks have free charcoal grills.
- The Meat Store at the Central Market sells good-grade lamb at fair prices; the lamb rack is recommended for grilling yourself.
- SA lamb has a very mild aroma, so people who do not like European lamb often prefer Australian lamb instead.
#5 Pavlova
An icon of Australian dessert (debated with New Zealand over who invented it first, but Australia is just as proud of it). The meringue base is crisp outside and soft like marshmallow inside, topped with fresh whipped cream and seasonal fresh fruit, gently sweet and fragrant with vanilla. It is very different from ordinary meringue thanks to a special ingredient that keeps the centre soft. The good bakeries in Adelaide and Hahndorf make fresh pavlova every day, perfect as a dessert after a meal or with afternoon coffee.
- Summer pavlova often uses tropical fruit like mango, gooseberry, and passion fruit, while winter uses strawberry and raspberry; order with the season for the freshest fruit.
- Haigh's Chocolates, Adelaide's oldest chocolate shop (since 1915), has a range of Australian-style desserts, including bite-sized pavlova.
- If you take it back to the hotel, pavlova only lasts a few hours before the cream collapses; it tastes best eaten fresh.
#6 Hahndorf German Smallgoods
A food heritage from the German migrants who settled in Hahndorf back in 1839. Bratwurst and mettwurst sausages are made to traditional recipes from local pork, the cheese is handmade from fresh Adelaide Hills farm milk, the bread is baked fresh every morning, and the Black Forest cake is fragrant with strawberry and chocolate just as it should be. The restaurants The Hahndorf Inn and The German Arms give you the feeling of sitting in a real German village.
- The Hahndorf Farm Barn combines a restaurant, a small petting farm, and a sweet shop, ideal for a full day with the family, with food prices more reasonable than on the main street.
- You can buy mettwurst (raw smoked beef sausage) and cheese vacuum-sealed to take home; it keeps for several days in the fridge and makes a popular gift.
- On weekdays both the shops and restaurants are open but with far fewer people than on weekends, so it is much easier if you drive out midweek.
Where to stay in Adelaide for this trip
A well-located hotel means less commuting and more sightseeing. Here are real, top-rated stays in Adelaide — compare Agoda · Booking · Trip.com in one click.
The Playford Adelaide - MGallery by Sofitel
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Adelaide Central YHA
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Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide
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InterContinental Adelaide
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Tours, tickets & activities in Adelaide
Day tours, attraction tickets and travel essentials for Adelaide — book ahead on Klook with mobile e-tickets.
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Before You Pack
Adelaide's best food is usually found at the Central Market, the restaurants along Gouger Street, and the degustation restaurants in the Adelaide Hills or the wineries in the Barossa. If you have a special budget, a meal at a leading winery with SA food matched by wine pairing is one of the best food experiences in Australia.